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The decarbonisation of British ports will enable a greener recovery & route to achieving net zero
A new report ‘Reducing Emissions from Shipping in Ports: Examining the Barriers to Shore Power’ has been released by The British Ports Association. The report looks to the government to increase their support in shore power connections as a route to achieve net zero targets. Furthermore, the report goes on to suggest that this cannot be achieved without public investment. The effectiveness of shore power connections has been seen at the Port of Seattle. Since the introduction of these, the Port has witnessed a 29% annual reduction in emissions and a 26% financial saving.
In addition to this, Schneider Electric has commented that the impact of portside emissions should not be underestimated. Emissions such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and noise pollution all have impacts on human health and the environment. Therefore, they support decarbonisation via smart technology.
Further to this, Schneider Electric is currently working on the UK’s first largest ship-to-shore commercial connection in Orkney. This project is working on supplying locally produced green electrical power to the MV Hamnavoe NorthLink ferry. The new power supply system will cut the current overnight footprint by reducing fuel consumption by 500 tonnes a year. This will result in a reduction in carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxides and noise.
It has been concluded that 60% of ship owners and operators don’t have decarbonisation policies in place. This, matched against the 40 million people within the UK that live in areas where diesel pollution threatens their health, could result in issues achieving net zero targets unless something is done to combat it.
For more information on this, head to Future Net Zero here.
